Well,the weather seems to have taken a sudden turn for the better, who knows how long this will last? So, over the last week we’ve started sorting the garden out ready for the summer. Done a lot of weeding out, sorting out of dead pots, pruning and sweeping up of general detritus.

We popped out this morning to the Sunnyside Nursery at Langstone. I’d recommend this excellent little garden centre for top quality, superbly priced plants and gardening peripherals, it’s very small and doesn’t carry all the paraphernalia that a lot of garden centres seem to think is essential, like DVDs, books, clothes, tropical fish etc, but if it’s gardening you’re interested in this is well worth a visit.

I picked up half a dozen Senetti, a nice Delphinium and a lovely Hollyhock and brought them home to find some space.

Here’s a few pics of what it looks like at the moment, It’s going to be ablaze of colour this summer, really looking forward to spending some summer evening sitting out there.

Bed 2 has a beautiful creeping carpet plant called ‘Stairway To Heaven’ along with Senetti, Hollyhock, Alliums, Another gooseberry, a couple of roses and a Delphinium

The GWR engine is home to some mint and sage this year, keep an eye on this one

We enjoyed a lovely afternoon at the National Trust property, Croft Caslt and Parkland, near Leominster today. We had never visited this site before so it’s always nice to find somewhere new.

It’s a 1,000 year old estate that has been in the hands of the Croft family for the majority of that time. The history of the estate reveals a family that have been involved in many of the great conflicts that have moulded the shape of Britain as it is today. From the Norman conquest, through the War Of The Roses, The English Civil War and the two World Wars.

Spent a lovely day tidying up and repotting in our garden, gorgeous sunshine. It’s all looking very green at the moment, not much out in bloom yet, but they are starting to come through nicely and I think the summer will be very colourful. Here’s a few pics of some flowers that have shown their faces. (and some fire and a couple of cats)

Finally the weather seems to be improving and I’ve been able to make a start on the garden for the summer. Celebrated with a few new plants. Shown here with a couple of wider shots of the garden as it stands. Watch this space for how things develop…

It’s always lovely to watch the garden starting to come to life in the late spring. Our garden is small, mostly tubs and pots with a couple of small raised beds, we’re in the middle of a city but we’ve created a small place that give us a pleasant place to relax for a couple of hours. Here’s a few photos I took this afternoon.

This Peony is really strong this year

Senetti solid pink

Senetti solid purple

I always forget the name of this, but it’s Centaurea Montana, has beautiful purple flowers to come later.

This clematis took a couple of years to get going, but this year it’s making an effort.

A couple of hostas, always a game to keep the slugs off.

Senetti, Purple and white

Senetti, pink and white

I was really pleased with the tulips this year, mock orange in the background.

Apple blossom is coming through.

These senettis are only an annual, but you get flower all through the summer.

During our Easter holiday at Oxwich Bay we paid a visit to a local National Trust property. Aberdulais Tin Works and Waterfall is located just north of Neath and features a spectacular natural waterfall that was modified and industrialised in the 1800s.

It is a small site which you can visit comfortably in an hour or so before taking some refreshments in the old school house, which now serves as the the rooms. If you plan a visit there it’s worth finding another local site to visit too, to make a day of it. We chose the nearby Neath Abbey.

Most of the buildings are now in ruins, but the information provided on site tells the story of the tin plate industry and of the site’s previous business enterprises. There are two short background films to watch, the second of which is shown in an atmospheric darkened room inside the wheel house, it is projected into a mirror which gives something of a 3D effect.

As you tour through the site you also climb to the top of the falls, there are stairs and steps scattered across the site and also lift facilities, including wheelchair/pram lifts to get you to the top. The view from the top is quite spectacular and makes the visit doubly worthwhile.

We picked a day with perfect weather. Here are a few photos from the day.

We returned to Dyffryn Gardens today, a National Trust property just outside Cardiff. Dyffryn is a beautiful property with stunning walled formal gardens that are stunning at any time of year, well worth a visit.

This autumn the gardeners at Dyffryn have been hard at work planting hundreds of varieties of Dahlias to celebrate the centenary of Reginald Cory’s Dahlia trials, in which he collected over 1,000 species and more than 7,000 plants in all.

Dahlias are a fantastic addition to any garden blooming late into the season and bringing a variety of strong colours and striking flower heads. The thousands of available varieties break down into different categories including Pompom, Orchid, Cactus, Semi Cactus, Giant, Decorative and Collerette.

I’m no expert by any means, but I’ve included a slide show of some of the varieties at Dyffryn this season, next year I’m going back to Dahlias in a big way.